Kin plead for 2 Americans, Briton to be released; 2 clerics slain &lt;b&gt;...&lt;/b&gt; Relatives pleaded Monday for the release of two Americans and a Briton held hostage as a deadline loomed for their beheading. In Baghdad, gunmen assassinated two clerics from a powerful Sunni Muslim group opposed to the US presence in Iraq. 
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